Scuttlebutt Europe #3515 - 1 February

Brought to you by Seahorse magazine, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to

Ian Williams Wins Monsoon Cup and Sixth World Title Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Ian Williams (GBR) dominated Taylor Canfield (ISV) to win the Final of the Monsoon Cup 3-0, sweeping the GAC Pindar skipper to his sixth World Championship title on the World Match Racing Tour. Williams has extended his record as the most successful match racing skipper in the history of the Tour.

While Canfield was getting the better of his arch-rival in the pre-starts, once out of the blocks GAC Pindar was just coaxing maximum speed out of the FarEast 28R keelboat on the challenging, ever-changing Straits of Johor.

The British skipper admitted that the US Virgin Islander had brought his "A game" to the pre-starts, as US One managed to stick penalties on GAC Pindar in both of the final two matches. However Williams had a clear boatspeed edge that left Canfield scratching his head.

The British skipper paid tribute to his team - mainsheet trimmer Gerry Mitchell, headsail trimmer Mal Parker and tactician Chris Main - for digging him out of a few holes.

In the Petit Final, Hansen beat Monnin 2-0 and took 3rd overall in the regatta.

The tension on the water at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella was fully loaded as Medal Races across the ten Olympic fleets drew the first big regatta of 2016, the Olympic year, to a close.

Many podium finishers from six days of racing in Miami will feature on the Rio 2016 pedestal in 188 days' time and Miami can be viewed as a marker of what is to come this year.

In a week plagued by grey skies and fickle breeze the sun shone brightly in Miami but the light winds remained.

Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL) came into the day as the only team who had gold wrapped up. In the remaining nine events it was wide open and in a shifty northern 6-8 knot breeze there were up, downs, disappointments and highs in their numbers.

Olympic medallists such as Robert Scheidt (BRA), Dorian Van Rijsselberge (NED), Evi Van Acker (BEL) and Bryony Shaw (GBR) showed their worth, taking the honours in their respective fleets. In the remaining divisions, several new contenders emerged including Diego Botin and Iago Lopez (ESP) and Mandy Mulder and Coen de Koning (NED) who won in world class fields. -- Daniel Smith, World Sailing and Stuart Streuli, Sailing World Cup Miami

A gently narrowing space After a rush of development, design progress in the thriving Class40 is mostly now about the details... unless you are faced with a diverse new suite of performance targets. Merfyn Owen

The backwards way forward Front to back or back to front, Torbjorn Linderson compares the French way of doing business with traditional Anglo Saxon methods

Of devils and details - Part I It's now more than10 years since engineering whizz Jon Williams ran out of patience keeping the stressed mechanics on America's Cup yachts running and decided it was time to fly solo

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Eric Bompard Renews Title Partnership With The Solitaire Du Figaro OC Sport is pleased to announce that the French fashion house, Eric Bompard, has renewed its title partnership with the Solitaire du Figaro in 2016,

Together with event organisers, OC Sport, Eric Bompard, chairman of the company, and his team will work to rejuvenate the Figaro starting with a name change.

Now in its 47th year, the championship will henceforth be titled: 'THE SOLITAIRE BOMPARD - LE FIGARO.'

A high-end cashmere fashion house founded in 1985, Eric Bompard has been a committed title partner to the Solitaire since 2011 - the brand giving the race its distinctive blue and pink identity.

The renewal of the sponsorship comes as great news to organisers and competitors alike as Bompard and his team climb back aboard the Figaro for a sixth consecutive year. Since its appointment as title sponsor, Eric Bompard has provided unwavering support for the event and all who are involved.

Torben Grael Presented With World Sailing Hall Of Fame Trophy Brazil's Torben Grael has been presented with the World Sailing Hall of Fame trophy at Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella.

Following his induction at the 2015 Annual Conference in Sanya, China, World Sailing Vice President Gary Jobson presented Grael with the Hall of Fame trophy as well as a unique blue World Sailing logo pennant that only inductees receive.

Grael is one of Brazil's greatest sailing exports. He is one of only three individuals to have won five Olympic medals in sailing, including two Bronze medals, a Silver medal and two Gold medals across two classes (Soling and Star).

Further to this impressive record, Grael has also excelled in other areas of sailing. He has won both the Volvo Ocean Race (as skipper of 'Ericsson 4') and the Louis Vuitton Cup (as tactician on 'Luna Rossa'). He has also won numerous World Championships in the Star class and 12 Meter class.

In recognition of his achievements, Grael was awarded the Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award in 2009.

Sailors will be inducted into the Hall of Fame every third year of the Executive Committee's tenure. The next induction will be in 2019.

A Minute A Mile Faster Super 12 lead designer Britton Ward (Farr Yacht Design, Annapolis), Project Manager Randy Moreno, and Westerly Yachts Co-Owner Lynn Bowser at tonight's Cup-date presentation at Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, CA. Ward announced that the new Super 12 yachts will be, on average, a minute a mile faster than a classic 12 Meter yacht.

Ward gave updated statistics Thursday night during a presentation in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Balboa Yacht Club.

The Super 12s will compete annually in the San Francisco Yacht Racing Challenge for the Super 12 Cup beginning in July 2017, returning dignity, style and stability to yacht racing in that reliably windy and iconically beautiful venue.

The Super 12s are a modern take on the classic 12 Meter yachts. A new, rule-legal 12 Meter has not been built in three decades.

Ehman outlined plans for public interaction, including a "Pit Row" where all the yachts will dock together each night during the regatta, with a race village incorporated into existing facilities, and free public race viewing from Marina Green.

Ehman also announced that the race course will be in San Francisco Bay between the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and Pier 39. "San Francisco Bay is one of the best sailing venues on the planet. The Super 12s will be elegant yet fast and powerful. With July's reliably strong wind, and race courses close to shore, the racing will be exciting for sailing and non-sailing fans alike. -- Meg Ehman

Dee Caffari Takes On Three Peaks Yacht Race For Sail 4 Cancer Yachtswoman Dee Caffari will realise a lifelong dream and take on the very challenging Three Peaks Yacht Race from Barmouth to Fort William, starting on June 11th. She will be raising funds for the work of sailing and respite charity Sail 4 Cancer.

The Three Peaks Yacht Race is one of the oldest and most remarkable multi-sport endurance races in the world. It is a unique event combining sailing, running and a little cycling; with the quirky feature that rowing is allowed in moments of calm. It takes competitors through some of the most spectacular scenery in the United Kingdom. Not only are teams required to have excellent sailing and navigational abilities, but they also run Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland, in only a few days.

To support Dee and her team and follow their preparations and adventures visit: www.sail4cancer.org

Finn Class Announces Change Of Junior Events To U23 The International Finn Association has announced a decision to change the age for its Junior titles from under 22 years old to U23.

"The decision has been taken following discussions with various federations and National Olympic Committees in order to align the age group to one most commonly used by other sports such as athletics, rowing and swimming. Among the Olympic sailing classes, the 470, the 49er and the FX have also recently adopted U23 for their Junior worlds and this would allow us to run combined events in the future," Corinne Mckenzie, Finn Class Executive Director, explained.

With the change of age division, the Finn class is changing the name to U23 Finn World Championship. The event is also known as the Finn Silver Cup, for the Jorg Bruder Trophy, a stepping stone to the famous World Championship trophy, the Finn Gold Cup.

This rule will apply from this year when U23 Finn sailors will be able to test first-hand the 2018 World Sailing Championship waters in Aarhus, Denmark. The 2016 U23 Finn World Championship will take place from the 3-9 July 2016.

GC32 Racing Tour Venues And Schedule Announced For 2016, its fourth season, the GC32 Racing Tour is taking a fresh approach with the simple remit of visiting venues that will provide the optimum foiling conditions for the 32ft flying catamarans and the best, most high octane racing for its teams.

To minimise transportation time and cost, while maximising time on the water for competitors, the circuit is also this year located exclusively in southern Europe.

Javier Sanz, President of the RCNP welcomed the GC32s: "Integrating the GC32 into the 35th Copa del Rey MAPFRE is the big story of this year's regatta. These 'flying boats' represent the cutting edge in sailing and we, as organiser of one of the most important events in the Mediterranean, want to incorporate this very latest style of sailing into our regatta.

At present eight GC32 teams, including some of the world's top teams such as Spindrift racing, have signed up to join the GC32 Racing Tour in 2016 and numbers are expected to swell to more than 10 over the season.